GOD IS SEEING YOU...

Oh..dear friends in Christ, i am back after long time being off Blog for organizational issues. Thank God i am able to be back.

Let me tell you a story
One day a church teacher was preaching in a funeral service of a known person under a mango tree in the community and he was preaching about death. He said,
....brothers and sisters, we should not fear death because it is the only way we shall get to heaven. Even this one we are burying today is able to go only through death. We shall all die and go, so we should not fear death.....
..and he was going a head when mistakenly a green snake of about 35cm fell from the mango tree in-front of the church teacher and seeing that it is a snake, he took off...ran...

So brothers and sisters, when we speak, we are not only speaking to men on earth but we are also speaking to God. You see, death comes to us in different ways and at different times. So why do we speak to people when we can not keep in practice what we are saying yet we as church leaders and servants of the Lord are suppose to be exemplary.

Let us live exemplary life in the Lord by not corrupting our works and sayings by the desires that have earthly bases. Sometimes we speak when we do not know that God can mean to test you there and then in-front of the people or public.

Just like prayers, God answers prayers either before you pray because he knows your needs, during praying and after praying.....thus is also what we speak which is subject to test and evaluation by God any time anywhere. The Bible tells us that as church  leaders, we should not let HIS children to stumble by giving false testimony, poor exemplary life, if we do, great punishment awaits us.

Decide for your self but my request is that let us do and speak what the Lord directs us to do and speak and be firm to defend by being exemplary in our words and acts so that others will get to know the real stand in us that they may BELIEVE and follow

Love you all in HIM who SAVES
Mathew

BEING THANKFUL

Being faithful

 

Jeremiah 33:11

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good, his love endures forever.”

 

Thankfulness is a way of expressing gratitude for a blessing. God creates us and our creator Almighty God gives that everything we have to us.

 

When your father gives you something, you give a reply by saying “thank to you dad”. When your mother gives you something, you say “thank you mummy” or else when a friend, relative or someone gives you something you like, you answer “thank you” and others add, “May Gob bless you” as an expression of real and joyful acceptance. We give thanks to appreciate the offer/gift we receive from someone.

 

Now let us together look at what it means to give thanks or being thankful…

 

Paul declares to us that to give thanks is a duty and something a duty is something we do as our personal attribute/responsibility, part and partial 2 Thessalonians 2:13. When you thank someone who gives you something, the person gets pleased understanding that his/her gift is appreciated…thus is for God. You are saved by Gods grace and therefore you ought to thank him.

 

God created you…………………………………………..give thanks

God gave you life…………………………………………give thanks

God loves you…………………………………………….give thanks

God saved you from your problems……………………...give thanks

God protects you………………………………………….give thanks

God provides for you…………………………………..…give thanks                                          all these and many more that the Lord has done and is still doing to your life

.

When therefore should we thank God for the good things and gifts we have received from him and that we are yet to receive???

 

Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:16 that we must thank God ceasingly, we should not stop because a lot is yet to be done to us. Since it is a duty to thank God, do it every day/spontaneously Philippians 1:3, Romans 1:8. When we give thanks to God for what he has done to us, in whatever condition and circumstance, He gets to know that we really appreciate what he has done to us and therefore gets pleased to give more. When we are giving thanks to God, we have to do it faithfully in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Why do we always direct our cry, thanks giving, confession, and requests to God through/in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ??

 

Now listen carefully….

 

We must know that we were once lost in sin due to the disobedience of our ancestors, but now the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only bridge for us to reach heaven finds us. Faith in Jesus only can let your prayer (talk/words) reach God, but when we do not believe and trust and have faith in him, God will not hear us because it will look like we are jumping a step that is impossible.

 

Let us go to Book 1 in a kids series of biblestudyforkids.com “Developing a relationship with Jesus” and open to pages 29, 30 and 32; and see why Jesus is such a central figure to us.

 

John 10:30. “I and the father are one”, 14:9b tells us “anyone who has seen me has seen the father”. Understand that our salvation depends on Jesus’ flawless divinity, Jesus-God clothed with flesh lived sinless and was crucified for our sins as a sacrificial lamb (Leviticus 22:19-21, John 1:29-30). We are brought together in Christian union by Jesus Christ through his bloodshed to save us and that is why we give thanks to God/Jesus because he is;

 

1.      “the bread of life” (John 6:35) meaning jesus sustains our life/soul from earthly life to heavenly life (Spirit) if only we accept to feed on the bread of life.

2.      “the light of the world” (John 8:12) so that we don’t walk in darkness. Imagine you are in a room where you have no knowledge of how things in the room are arranged and that incidentally light/power goes off. You will knock yourself on certain things in the room as you look for source of power/light to shine the room. Also is the light of Jesus that shines a head of us so that we see the obstacles of the evil plans of the devil.

3.      “the gate” John 10:9 through which we can enter in. Jesus is the only one who knows the way to heaven since he was from heaven and therefore he is the only gate to that way. For you to access that gate, you have to be pure in heart by having confessed with your own lips all your sinful iniquities. Also accepting that Jesus is Lord and that he came and died for you and me and faithfully believe in him as your one and only Lord and Savior because “no one gets to the father except through him (John14:6).

4.      “the true vine” John 15:1-2. If we do not bear good fruits, we are pruned and disposed off to the fire for burning so that healthy and good fruits are ensured. Imagine  if this is how grasses and weeds burn in a wild fire, how will it be for us in the everlasting fire if we do not give in to Christ.

5.      “the good shepherd”  John 10:11. This indicates to us that we the sheep owned by God and Jesus is the shepherd who even laid down his life for the sheep. Jesus died to pay for our sins offering us eternal life and that is why Jesus says he is

6.      “the resurrection and the life” John 11:25 when he was talking to Martha. This proves to us that nothing is impossible through Jesus.

 

Now having known all the above, why do we thank God?

 

We thank God for;

1.      Food (John 6.11, 23). God gives what we eat to us and we must therefore give thanks to him for the food so that it is blessed for both our Spiritual and Physical satisfaction.

2.      Wisdom (Daniel 2:23) No one has wisdom by himself. All source of wisdom comes from God. We must therefore thank God for giving us that wisdom that we have.

3.      Converts (1 Thessalonians 1:2) receiving those who turn away from evil acts of Satan to follow Jesus Christ with thanks to God.

4.      Prayer answered (Esther 1-10). When Haman who had rage against Modecia plotted to destroy, annihilate all Jews young and old, Esther and Modecia went down on their knees praying faithfully to God and had their prayer answered. In chapters 9 and 10, we see the Jews rejoicing and giving thanks to God for having answered their prayer. You might also be praying for wisdom and knowledge to pass your tests and examinations, for job or anything, once granted please give thanks to Almighty God so that it is not meaningless in your implementation.

5.      Victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). We give thanks for the victory over death through Christ Jesus our Lord because we shall not die again. Jesus died for us so that we may live after the earthly death.

6.      Salvation (2 Corinthians 9:15). We give thanks to God for his love to us by giving his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross on our behalf. This is an indescribable love and therefore we must give thanks because it is the most biggest gift that God has for us.

 

So continue with giving thanks to your Lord God because he loves you and has plans for you, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11

 

Love you all with the Love of Jesus Christ.

 

Mathew

 

 

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

The Goodness of God

God is love and those who live in him should be in love, love one another just as we are loved by Jesus. John 13:34.

Dear friends, the last topics we looked at were QUIET TIME and DESTRUCTION A SURE DEAL TO THOSE WHO DO TRUST IN THE ITEMS OF THE WORLD and for now, we are going to look at something similar, “THE GOODNESS OF GOD”.

God loves you and me; he wants us to live in him and with him so that he also lives with us and in us. God has plans for you and me in this world. Due to his love, he has plans to prosper you and me but not to cause harm on you (Jeremiah 29:11) because he is with us in every step of our life (Zephaniah 3:17).

Now if I may ask, why do we cry when we face problems, persecutions, challenges or fail to attain our desires? It is because we do not live a life expected by God of us. For a good relationship to take place, God expects us to live a life dedicative to him because he does not want to willingly bring affliction of grief to anyone (Lamentations 3:33). Our human negligence turns us away from the love of God paving way for Satan to take charge of us with all the pains and sufferings.

As it is written in Romans “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10) meaning that everyone has sinned and turned away from God, including you and me making him to withdraw his love from us. We have to note that once God leaves us due to our disobedience, we are subject to sufferings, pain and hardships because there is no one to love, protect and provide for us.

But due to the goodness of the Lord God, he has promised to forgive our sins however on the condition that we are able to agree that we have knowingly and unknowingly sinned and are able to confess of our sins. God’s love is genuine, he does not want us to perish but be in him so that we can inherit an everlasting life (John 3:16) so that if we believe in Jesus, we may find life. (John 3:36).

God is welcoming you and me back so that we can restore back the Brocken relationship (Joel 2:12-13). Can you just see this goodness of the Lord, after your bundles of sin; he still needs you back and can forgive all the sins. However much we go wrong against God, he is ready and just to forgive us if only we admit and do confess. Render your hearts to the Lord; let him be your leader and director in life. You should also know that walking in obedience please God (Hebrews 11:5-6, also Colossians 3:12-14) and do not take the help you offer to your friends as a burden to you but a help to glorify God (Colossians 3:23). We need to have fear for the Lord because our deeds are accountable to him (Ecclesiastes 12:13-13).

My dear lovely friends, I wish to tell you that we should therefore be alert and desist from the attacks of Satan, put on the full amour of the Lord (Ephesians 6:11) so that it will not be a surprise attack on our lives (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

I love you with the love of our savior Jesus Christ and I do expect you to love one another wherever you may be just as Christ loves us.

Be Blessed

Mathew.

 

DEDICATION

DEDICATING TO GOD

Hi,

In this study, we are going to look at “Dedicating to our Lord God’’ and in this we shall answer several questions of;

• What does it mean in dedicating to God?
• What do we dedicate to God?
• Why do we dedicate to God?
• When do we dedicate to God?

We are all initially children of God by creation, but with passage of time as we grow by, interacting with the events and changes of the world, we begin to seal our self from being children of God. In most cases this is due our lack of dedication to our Lord God who is the owner of our life.

In this context, I will say ‘Dedicating to God is the process letting God to take control of your life in all aspect of your life in this world’. Dedication is a process, it is just not once. It is a continuous process.

Note these…

• It is due to dedication of our love to our friends that we live in love, peace and harmony.
• It is due to the dedication of the love of a father to his children that he provides for them.
• It is due to dedication of love to marriage partners that the married do stay together in the marriage till death separates them

Above all, it is due to the dedication of the love of God to us that He is protecting us, providing for us up to date though in times of happiness, sorrow and what ever circumstances we may be in, because God said that He is with us. “The Lord God is with you. He is Mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; he will quiet you with his love…” Zephaniah 3:17 and God has plans for you and for me. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11. Our being children of God is not our own wish, but by grace and love of God Ephesians 2:8.

Dedicating to God is a process of giving up our life as a living sacrifice to the service of God, letting God to take control of our life. It is a process because it is from the time we identify our self as SINNERS and admitting that what we have been in, is SIN and therefore taking a step of accepting and coming to Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, up to the time of our death (when God takes us to be with Him in His Kingdom). One thing we have to note with concern is that our dedication to our Lord God is being instructed/ a command, for we were once lost in sin when Adam and Eve went beyond Gods’ commands, but by the Grace of God we are been drawn back to him through the death of Jesus Christ for our sins. Galatians 3:26-27, Ephesians 2:4-5, 13.

Remember that our relationship with God was terminated by the act of Adam and Eve. They took pleasure in themselves and the events of the world that they failed to dedicate themselves to the expectation of God, thus sin came in Genesis 3. Even during the Egypt- canner journey under the leadership of Moses, Aaron and so, Israelites failed to dedicate themselves to the expectation of God (Exodus), they kept sinning on the way.

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross has redeemed us from our sinful state and nature and “we are put in one body with Christ through Baptism” Romans 6:3-4. If you are still behind and have not yet identified your self with Christ Jesus, “repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the forgiveness of your sins”. God dedicated Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that we may find salvation in Him. The gift of God (Kingdom) can not be bought with money or wealth like what Simon the sorcerer tried to do Acts 8:18-24. “We must go through hardship to enter the Kingdom of God” Acts 14:22b. During Baptism, “you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received a spirit of Sonship” Romans 8:15.

Therefore my dear friends, “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ ad do not think about how to gratify the desire of the sinful nature” Romans 13:14. Remember that “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” 1 John 2:17.

Action needed…….

Read Deuteronomy 22:9 reflect on the writing and evaluate your life, boldly come and act upon. Know that once you are with Christ, nothing will separate you from the Love of Christ. Romans 8:35-39. Even do not worry over a single thing or issue for the Lord your God has plans for you, “to prosper you, not to harm you” Jeremiah 29:11. “Brothers and sisters, “God is with you” (Zephaniah 3:17) in all your struggles.

Be blessed as you dedicate/devote to God, and if you have never been doing so, it is high time you act. You may need special prayers request, please do not hesitate to write to me.

Love in Christ to you all.

Mathew.

Building Life

BUILDING  A  LIFE

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire, and he told his boss of his plans to leave and live a more leisurely life with his wife. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by…     

The contractor was sorry to see such a good worker go,and he asked the  carpenter to build just one more house as a personal favor.

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work, he resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “this is your house,” he said. ”it is my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!!! What a shame!!! If he had only known he was  building his own house, he would have done it all so different.

So it is with us, we build our lives, a day at a time, after putting less than our best into the building, then with a shock we realize when we have to live in the house we have build. If we could do it over, we would  do it much differently. But we can not go back....

You are the carpenter of your life,each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall,,,,,,,,

Your attitudes and the choices you make today build your house for tomorrow....

Build wisely! Ask God to be the master builder of your life. He will show you how to build a strong foundation for the house of your life.

Please pass this on to others.

Love in Christ to you all

Mathew.

Destruction.

DESTRUCTION, A SURE DEAL TO THOSE WHO DOES TRUST IN ITEMS OF THE WORLD.

John 3:36

In the current world, there are so many things happening, people trusting in earthly things for their protection, provisions; like herbs, witches, animals and so on. Besides, there are people who are trusting in themselves on this earth like Kings, Presidents and persons with Riches feeling so superior.

ü  They often forget God their creator, who is the Sole provider of everything they are holding, the chief security provider of their life.

ü  They lose respect for fellow humans, always expecting people to adore to their earthly commands whenever and wherever.

EXAMPLES OF SUCH IN THE BIBLE………

Ø  Haman after attaining His position as the second in the royal command in the Kingdom of Susa Ruled by King Xerxes (Esther 1…), tried to use his position to destroy all the Jews living in the Kingdom because he claimed to be superior that he wanted everyone to adore to his evil worship styles and commands. He wanted earthly pleasure and recognition, he perished…. (Esther 7:1….)

Ø  In 1 Samuel 15,  King Saul failed to carry and follow the instructions of God of destroying all the Amalekites and their assets, instead he spared King Agag and the best of the sheep, cattle, the fat calves and Lambs, everything that was good to him. This was against Gods’ command, God had to bring Saul’s’ rule into an end.

Ø  And many more examples in the Bible you need to dig in and even in the current society. However, at the right timing, they all together lost their life.

What about you and me, whom/what do you and I trust in as the provider, protector and source of life? Some of us trust in our parents, friends, love partners, bosses at work, priests, and pastors and so on, forgetting the position of Jesus Christ in our daily life activities. We have to put/centralise our trust in Christ Jesus who is the center of our life; He determines your fate to Heaven.

“Jesus is the Light of the World” (John 8:12), He gives light to the world and your life but you can only see the light and walk in it unless you ADORE to Him by accepting Jesus as your personal Savior and source of Life, Strength and so on. We have to note that “The Lord is Strength”. He gives you the Strength in times of problems, sorrows, joy, celebrations and any circumstance (Isaiah 26:4).

Jesus is God and through Him we come to know and get closer to our God. Colossians 1:15-20. Jesus even stresses in John 10:30 that “I and the Father are one” John 14:9b “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”. However, we do not know God because we do not know Jesus. Sometimes we know Jesus but we fail to identify ourselves with Him. Indeed Jesus is God who gives you and me life and the prosperity…. Read John 1:1-4 and 1: 14, also John 8:19.

Jesus is the only path through which we can meet our God. Neither our mother, nor father, uncle, priest, pastor can take us to Heaven but only by BELIEVING AND TRUSTING IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. John 14:6. “Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” John 1:29, He takes away your sins and my sins, nothing that he cannot do in cleansing you if you grant Him the chance by giving up your life to Him. You cannot run to your father, mother, witchdoctor, and pastor for the forgiveness of the sin you have committed, but only you can run to Christ Jesus for the cleansing/purification process, to make you pure for the kingdom of God.

Jesus is the only cornerstone to our foundation. Be it in business, Ministry, education or what so ever, PUT first Christ Jesus a head of your plan, you will progress in life in the light of God and your ways will always be liked and appreciated by God and His people on earth. 1 Peter 2:6-7.

We are the flocks/sheep of God whom Jesus is looking after.(let me refer you to KIDS DEVOTIONAL STUDY series Book 1- Developing Relationship with Jesus- by Biblestudyforkids.com) He is the only Shepherd who knows His sheep (us) by names. But though all these, we always refuse to respond to His call. Jesus says anyone who publicly denies Him will also be denied before of God, and imagine how terrible it will be when you are denied access to God by Jesus during your judgment day. Jesus is the only Savior (Luke 2:11) even proclaimed by the Angel to the shepherds while they were looking after their sheep at night.

Now dear friend, take note that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13. Keep your eyes to the Lord for He has plans for your life, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11. In times of happiness, trials, temptations, sorrow, sickness or what so ever the case may be, “The Lord God is with you. He is Mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love…” Zephaniah 3:17.

My appeal to you is that, come up boldly, TRUST, BELIEVE and ACCEPT Jesus Christ as your foundation stone. Build your life constructively.

Love in the Lord to you all,

Mathew.

PERSONAL MESSAGE

PERSONAL MESSAGE

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love the Lord my God and i think it is the reason why He is using me to minister and proclaim His word to the world through this Sunday school and Bible study programs. I do not regret time spent in it. Please take your time and identify yourself with me in the ministry as a servant of God. You never know God may come to live in you if only you live in Him.

In a special way I want to thank Linda Shanks (BSFK DIRECTOR) in her service for the Lord for providing for the study, and all those who are with me in spirit and prayers for the service. May the Lord our God provide for you abundantly.

MY VISION

1-      FOR THE CHILDREN.

A spiritually resourceful generation such that the Gospel of God is spread to a wider range and those Children involved in the study may look forward to meeting their Lord God with no doubt when the time comes.

2-      FOR THE MISSION.

A home for the word of God where children can meet to share, discuss, rejoice, acquire, inquire from one another the works, wonders, promises, miracles and experiences of their  Lord God.

MY PLANS

1-      FOR THE CHILDREN.

Initiate them to Christ so that they cannot be misled by the wonders of earthly lusts.

2-      FOR THE PROGRAM

Develop the program to become independent with a center established for the operation of its activities where training can also be conducted to children and study leaders as on leadership skills and spiritual nourishment.

HELP ME LORD IN THE SERVICE YOU HAVE PLACED ME.

Mathew.

QUIET TIME

QUIET TIME

(WHAT IS QUIET TIME?, WHY QUIET TIME?, WHEN IS QUIET TIME?, WHO IS FOR QUIET TIME?  AND WHEN IS QUIET TIME?)

Welcome to meet me in this study. I want us to look at Quiet Time, and preferably we shall in most cases answer some of these questions above as we progress with the point of interest.

Waoh…..!!!!!! Quiet Time I believe ``is the meeting with God in a thoughtful circumstance through regular reading of the Bible and prayers. In other words, it is a personal commitment/communication with God. It is a time set aside to talk to God and meditate in his words. Well….. I do not know what time is for your Quiet Time out of the 24 hours of the day. It is once a day and this depends on your days plan. It may be at your;

-          Bed time

-          Early morning

-          Lunch time

-          Or any time of the day convenient to you.

So I leave that unto you as to what time is appropriate to you. However, by this time, you should be free of all other things, only ready to communicate to God. No stress and so on.

So, what do you need for your Quiet Time? You need the following basically:

v  A quiet place free from noise, interruptions and so on.

v  A Bible (the word of God to pick the text to read and look upon)

v  A note book and Pen to note down important items, appeals, promises, revelations, commands and so.

v  A guide line that tells you what to do in each Quiet Time.

v  Interest for Quiet Time, moreover a personal interest for talking to God. Less than that, it will be a waste of time because you will do it as like you have been forced to.

v  Time for the activity. God gave us 24 hours, of which some of the time is for rest (sleep), but much of the time is for your personal wants. Choose which time is appropriate for you of the 24 hours.

Just briefly let us look at how we can have/do our Quiet Time.

Now that you are at your Quiet Time, do the following:

v  PRAY. In this prayer,

-repent

-ask for forgiveness of your past evil acts that you can remember and that you can’t.

-ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit to help you in the time. (Psalms 119:18)

v  Then READ the text from your Bible that your guideline suggests for the day to read. As you read, keep note of (write down in your note book) important ideas and information reached like promises, revelations, commands, do’s and don’ts, requests and so on as you find in the text.

v  Then THINK about the text (verses) as you ask yourself the following questions;

Ø  What do these verses mean?

Ø  What does God want me to learn from these verses?

Ø  Does this text tell me anything new about God, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

Ø  Does the text encourage me or discourage me on doing something?

v  After examining the text and yourself with these questions, then PRAY again. This time in the prayer;

·         Thank God for having guided you in the Quiet Time.

·         Request him to send the Holy Spirit to live in you so that you may live in the spirit and to move with you  as you leave the Quiet Time place for other activities so that you are sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ where Satan will not find any place in you.

v  Finally, Do!!!!!   Put to practice what the Lord God expects of you (Revelations 1:3) according to the text you have looked in.

You should do this not because you ought to, but:

·         To be wise in salvation (2 Timothy 3:15)

·         For defense against the attacks of Satan (Ephesians 6:17)

·         To keep pure/clean ( Psalms 119:9,11)

·         And finally to equip yourself for the Lords’ service.

``I keep asking that the God our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,…….’’ Ephesians 1:17-18.

DRAWING TO GOD

Drawing to God

This time i want to start with questions;

1-      Why draw to God?

2-      Who to draw to God?

3-      How do we draw to God?

Welcome to this study ``drawing to God’’. After knowing that we are the children of God, just take a step and ask yourself these three questions above. This will make you dig deeper in as to why God chose you as His child.

Yes…..from our previous lesson, we ask ourselves the question ``what next in being a child of God?’’ The answer to this is straight away ……TO DRAW TO GOD……..since He has accepted you as His child due to your believe in Gods son Jesus Christ, the only thing you need to do is to ``LOVE your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’’ Mathew 22:37.  Ohhhhh....come on,``what are you waiting now? Get up, be Baptized, wash your sins away, calling on His name’’ Acts 22:16

Now if I may answer the question: `why draw to God?’’.

We draw to God for strength. Psalms 29:1-5. Our strength is only in God. Less than that, we are just living in dreams that cannot come in to fulfillment because John tells us that things of the world shall pass away. 1 John 2:15-17. Romans 12:2.

We also draw to God to find Him while He may be found, Psalms 32:6, because by the time of critical moments, God will only be available to those who did conform to His words.

We draw to God because we do not want to die- Luke 20:36. Even if we die in body, we would wish to live with God forever and that is why we need to draw to Him.

We also draw to God for Love 1 Corinthians 13, we draw to God for comfort 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, and we draw to God to attain freedom Galatians 5:1.

Who to draw to God???? John 1:12-13. ``Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…….’’

Deuteronomy 14:1-2 also points out that ``you are the children of the Lord your God……..the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession’’, while the means by which we are brought as sons to Glory is the participation of Jesus in Flesh and Blood, and His death in respect to that Galatians 3:26.

How do we draw to God?????

-The first sure thing we have to know is `PRAYERS’,  this is the way we talk to God.

We pray to:

1-      Ask for forgiveness 2 Corinthians 7:14.

2-      Present our personal needs - Mark 11:24.

3-      Follow the examples of Jesus - Luke 6:12.

4-      We should keep on praying whatever the circumstance is - 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

-Live a life expected of you by God. Try by all means to avoid idleness because an idle mind is the devils workshop – 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

-Be rooted in the Gospel of Christ Jesus – 2 Thessalonians 2:15.

-Press ahead looking to hear from your Lord God and try to forget the past – Philippians 3:12-13.

-Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes – Ephesians 6:11.

-Do not be yorked with unbelievers – Galatians 5:1.

-Do not Love the world – 1 John 2:15-17, Romans 12:2.

Be blessed as you look unto Him who saves.

BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD

BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD

Just ask yourself, ``who is a child of God?’’. Not all are children of God but only those who do believe in Him who saves-Jesus Christ John 1:12. So, where are the rest of people or who is their father? We all belong to God and he owns us….but only those who do what He wants us to do are Gods’ real children. The spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are Gods children. Romans 8:16

We had earlier on all belonged to God, but since man decided to follow his own way by sinning against God (eating the forbidden fruit) Genesis 3, the relationship was broken and that sin separated us from being Gods children. Romans 3:23

But since God merciful, He did not sign off from adopting us as his children; God did a good thing to us and let us see what it is.

The good news is that God sent his son Jesus Christ born of a woman to redeem us (Galatians 4:5), that yet to those who receive Him, Believe in his name, He gave the right to become children of God.

All we need is to believe and become Gods children and it is only by faith in Christ Jesus that one is plugged to him as His child. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in times of need. Hebrews 4:14, 16

It is always the spirit of God that dwells in our hearts and the spirit help us to call out `Abba father’’ Galatians 4:6. Yes, a person may choose to become a church goer other than a child of God, it is much simple to become a child of God only by believing and confessing Jesus as your Lord and savior. Romans 10:13.

``That if you confess with your mouth Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the death, you will be saved’’ Romans 10:9

So, how do you grow as a child of God? Get answers right away…………..

By reading and meditating on the word of God, Constant praying to fight against the power Satan that may wish to bring you down, attending fellowships of Christian unions. As children of God, we are not left alone in our struggles in attaining the Kingdom of God Hebrews 13:5, 6.

So----- take one step ahead and get plugged to God through His son Jesus Christ. Just accept and receive Him as your Lord and savior and that you will become the dedicated child of God. Remember that things of the world will come to pass but the word of God endures forever.

If you wish BSFK team to pray for you to get connected, please let us know. I leave it upon you to make the choice, you never know how tomorrow will be.

God be with you as you make the choice.

REALIZING THE LOVE OF GOD

How do we realize the love of God? OR How do we know that God loves us?

Following all the time we were born all our life time, it may seem like we are in love with God, not God in love with us. But surely before we fall in love with God, God had already loved us ``we love because He first loved us’’ 1 John 4:19. Despite of our wickedness, He loves us (quote needed). God loves both the wicked and the righteous and He is much pleased to see the wicked turning from their sinful acts to doing what is good as he says ``wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Isaiah 1:16.

God Himself has a characteristic of love, and He is love Himself and that is why His other name is Love 1 John 4:8, 4:16.

Remember that God even went very far in demonstrating how much He loved us by giving His dear and only son Jesus Christ to be a Ransom John 3:16 and it is only to those who believe in the son and adore to Him that they shall be the children of God John 1:12.

Even we are breathing because of the love of God, if not…………we would have been nowhere. And His love endures forever.

I just received a DVD…..``Shout Praises’’ from Linda mid last year, among the songs in the album is a song that says “His love endures forever’’. I just wish you connect on Linda@biblestudyfirkids.com and ask for a direction to see how you can access a copy of the DVD. So pressing because indeed His love endures forever, and it is through this love that I was able to receive a copy.

Oh……oh….oh… come on….begin to realize the extravagant and abundant love of God right now if you had not and in doubt.

Paul realized how much Gods’ love is and that is why he boldly said ``For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither demons nor angles, neither the present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’’ Romans 8:38-39.

We become children of God only through the love of God. 1 John 3:1

The love of God cannot be compared to the love of the world. The love of your mother/father/uncle/sister/brother or any of your friend or relative cannot compete the love of God because ``the world and its desires pass away but the man who does the will of God lives forever’’. 1 John 2:17

Children of God, what have you asked and not given, please ask again He will give because He loves you and treasures your welfare so much. And sometimes begin to look at your capabilities and reaches strengthened; it is just because of the love of God. But due to our lack of faith in Him, we fail to realize the love of God. You cannot realize and recognize the love of God unless you do believe in Him.  

As we strive to attain this love, we should understand that success is at a cost. Moses stresses in Deuteronomy 20:1 – 5 that God is a head of us in the battle.

Global Christian Youth Link

About us.     Global Christian Youth Link

Global Christian Youth Link is a non-profit making faith based project that started late 2009 as a church activity in the quest of simplifying the word of God for children so as to meet their spiritual and mental level. This was started as a weekly Sunday school classes program after every Sunday services. This was because researches showing that children only pass time or sleep during general Sunday  services since the procedures of general Sunday service do not enrich their mental capacity.

Later, Bible studies came in as more children of various age levels showed interest in the activities whereby we could pick a story in the Bible and analyze them asking few questions on them and moral lessons learnt and we close the day. However, with passage of time, we started looking for some study items and materials that could support  the studies with the children and by now, things seems to be progressing well with the support from BSFK - Linda of Clive.

Global Christian Youth Link now operates in two churches, that is, Adia and Ajono Yivu. Requests have been made by the surrounding churches for the organization to reach them but due to some limitations, we have not extended the service to them but with time, it may reach them.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. GOAL#1. To reach the world with the word of God through the current young generation through introduction of the children to the Gospel.

2. GOAL#2. To increase the degree of the fear for the Lord God in young children (kids) at an early stage before they are introduced to the world so as to ensure Christian conformity in the next generation to come thus attaining the Kingdom of God that Jesus went ahead to prepare for each of us.

3. GOAL#3. To effectively utilize God given potentials in man through volunteers as a major factor in spreading the Gospel, children ministry and broadening the scope of children workers relative to the growing population of the children.

OBJECTIVES OF GOAL

a) To provide children with the relevant spiritual information necessary for the war with Satan such that they are not taken by the worldly pleasures.

b) To sensitize the community within the center of the operation on the techniques of effective assessment and evaluation of the spiritual growth and development of their children and expected consequences of the changes that occur within them such that appropriate precautions can be taken.

c) To recruit a group of literate youths in a slated period as planned by the organization to become GCYL workers. This would be done by a two week training of the recruits that would cover;

1- Basic Christian/spiritual doctrines that they shall have to follow and observe in the execution of their duties, Spiritual child development strategies from childhood to adulthood with conformity to Christ the Lord and knowing Him as their personal Savior.

2- Information on adult teaching methods thus how parents can help in the spiritual upbringing of their children for the betterment of their future struggles knowing God as their Father.

d) To constantly asses and evaluate the appropriateness of the children programs identifying what best could fit for their upkeep due to the ever changing demands of the society.

Achievements of the programme.

1-      Increase in the number of children responding to the program.

2-      Public acceptance of the program, proposing an existence of a center for the organization since many churches wish to access and pledge of support to form board committees.

3-      Existence of a study helper for the program-Linda Shanks of Clive.

4-      Existence of interests voluntarily shown by some members in leading the studies and classes in these churches though untrained.(Among others)

5-      The project has secured one Laptop computer for data collection and storage, a digital camera for picture coverage of important and wanted aspects in the administrative operations.

6-      10 NIV big size Bibles, 10 pocket sized Bibles and 2 Bibles in the local language.

7-      A lot of study books and items from BIBLE STUDY FOR KIDS COMPANY.

Challenges to the program

1-      Increased number of children posing shortages on available resources and number of children per class.

2-      Lack of a center for the organization to operate since it has to work in more than one church making it sometimes difficult to move materials from one church to another.

3-      Lack of trained personnel to spearhead the studies since our teachers and Bible study leaders are untrained and do things to the level of their knowledge.

4-      Financial limitations for the acquisition of some study items and for putting up of the organization center. (Among others).

5-      Overcrowding of children on the computer screen to look at their videos and pictures.

Plans

1-      Establishment of study center after securing a conducive financial aid.

2-      Expansion of the services to all the sectors that showed interest to the services and most definitely, that conform to the principal of the faith that Jesus is Lord—the son of God, and that life is only through Him who saves.

3-      Training of Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders for effective ministry and opration of the association.

4-      Acquisition of land for the establishment of the associations center.(among others)

We believe strongly that, in Him who saves, every thing shall progress well.

Yours

Mathew Dramadri

Director